Best area in NC for a bicyclist. (Charlotte, Raleigh: chapel, houses)

[dhanu86]

I enjoy biking and am considering to move to an area where you can bike right from your home and bike somewhere that's biker friendly. Rural roads, flat terrain, places people hike or walk like a state forest with a multi-purpose trail, etc. I assume those areas are more found in the coastal region where its flat and unpopulated because I lived in that kind of area. Do any areas or towns come to mind for a bicyclist?

Where in NC do you have uncrouded roads with shoulders and forests in a flat terrain?

[mdp_az]

I think you're looking for Colorado or California! Areas like that generally aren't abundant in NC, though I can say I've found Durham to be a pretty bike-friendly town. It is hilly in some spots, though, and with narrow shoulders, but it has a pretty decent network of bike lanes/greenways/American Tobacco Trail. There's a pretty active group of bike commuters in Durham, too.

[goldenage1]

Originally Posted by dhanu86

Where in NC do you have uncrouded roads with shoulders and forests in a flat terrain?

The stretch of Highway 50 between Holly Ridge and Maple Hill runs along the Holly Ridge Game Shelter, so there are woods on one side. Also the stretch of Highway 210 between Hampstead and I-40 is more interesting IMHO because there are scattered houses on large lots, and a few horse and cow pastures. I can't recall how wide the shoulders are. Both these routes are a short distance from Wilmington.

[LLN]

There are some potentially great bike routes in eastern NC. A lot of people ride Pamlico and Beaufort Counties, include ferry trips in their rides. There are numerous bike routes down here too.

There is a great bike shop in New Bern and they ride all the time, up to 50 milers and they generally go 25 at 25..way outside my league.

AtOmic Cycles Bicycle Shop - Retail Bicycle Shop - New Bern, NC | Facebook

The problem is the pitiful condition of the roads.

Even roads, for the most part, that look smooth, have lots of small cracks and holes. We rode about 15 miles on what appeared to be ideal road, last summer, near water, flat, no traffic, and even though from car trips it seemed in great condition, on the bike, I could have sworn I was on Paris - Roubiax. Terrible. At some point we came to a change in counties or something, and the road smoothed out, at that point it was heaven.

[LLN]

Oh yeah, check this out: NCDOT: Bike Maps and Routes

Good luck.


LLN

[ninsfa]

you actually want north central nc(no one lives there so roads are rural, and are actually mapped for biking) or what you really want is Boone or Asheville or hendersonville or brevard in Western north carolina, huge biking areas so the folks are accustomed to bikers, Lance trained a bit in boone...

[ClevelandMike]

tarheeltrailblazers.com and charlotte mecklenburg greenways

[dhanu86]

It's good to know there's biking in all directions. Still not set on where to live but I'll take a better look. Durham is a little to townish for
me but I occasionally drive other places to bike because it's all about new scenery and the sun.

[Native_Son]

Unfortunately you'll found that people are downright hostile to bikers around here. It is quite unnerving for the avid cyclist... The best place in NC for biking, IMO, is Chapel Hill. Raleigh, Cary, and Charlotte seem to be the most adverse to bikers from my experience.